The Scottish Banker of Surabaya - By Ian Hamilton Page 0,125
noticed, each had a balaclava stuck in their belt and held rifles, muzzle down, loosely at their sides. There were ten of them, all in their twenties or maybe thirties, and all of them were similarly fit. They listened intently to their captain, eyes focused tightly on him, heads nodding. They gave off an overwhelming sense of competence, not to mention firepower. Ava could not imagine the Italians trying to resist such a force.
When Aries finished, the men dispersed into small groups.
“We leave in ten minutes,” Poirier said to her.
“Who are these men?” Ava asked.
“They’re a specialized rapid-response unit attached to KorMar, the Marine Corps.”
“I’ve never seen rifles like those.”
“You know rifles?”
“Some.”
“Those are Pindad SS2 assault rifles. They’re Indonesian-made, and very effective.”
“They look it.”
“We’re in very good hands.”
“So what’s the plan that the captain was outlining?”
Poirier raised an eyebrow.
“I know we’re only along for the ride,” Ava said. “I just think I would be more comfortable if I knew what to expect.”
“We’re going to wait at the hangar.”
“In the hangar?”
“No. To be more accurate, near the hangar. And that’s all I think you need to know,” Poirier said, his eyes darting over to Aries, who was now standing by himself in a corner talking into a microphone.
Aries shouted to his men. They laid their rifles on the beds and began to put on their jackets. Poirier followed suit. Ava was already wearing hers but hadn’t been able to tighten it properly. She waited until Poirier was finished and then turned her back to him. “Could you finish this off for me, please?”
“The plane is forty-five minutes out,” Poirier said.
“I assumed as much.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Of course I am,” she said.
( 47 )
They left the barracks in single file. Aries and six of the men climbed into the Daihatsu; the remainder, Poirier, and Ava got into a Nissan Grand Livina that was the same size and also had tinted windows. She put her bag at her feet. No one seemed to think it strange that she had brought it with her.
It was a ten-minute drive to the airport, the Nissan following the Daihatsu. They drove past the main terminal, took an exit that was signed only in Indonesian, and then followed a two-lane road flanked by small office buildings festooned with airline logos, hangars, and what looked like warehouses. Everything was surrounded by uniform wooden fences, two and a half metres high and topped by razor wire. Poirier sat next to Ava in the back of the vehicle, his head turned away, his attention on their surroundings. The men in front chatted quietly among themselves in Indonesian, occasionally chuckling. She knew from her own experience that it was their way of keeping their nerves under control, not a sign that they were taking things for granted.
The road ended at a guardhouse that sat about ten metres in front of a steel gate. The driver’s-side window of the Daihatsu slid down, a head emerged briefly, and the gate swung open. “One of Aries’ men is in the gatehouse with the regular attendant,” Poirier said.
The cars drove onto airport property. The main commercial terminal was in the distance, separated from them by an expanse of runway and swaths of grass, and framed by the hangars and warehouses. The Daihatsu took a left turn and drove towards a line of four hangars. The Nissan followed but then veered right, directly to a small office building that was signed in Indonesian and, in smaller script, English: FREIGHT OFFICE. The Nissan driver backed the vehicle into a parking spot in front. They had a head-on view of the hangars.
Through the front window, Ava saw that the Daihatsu had taken up a position along the far side of the hangar closest to the main terminal.
“Which hangar will the plane go to?” she asked.
“The second one,” Poirier said.
“Won’t the plane see the Daihatsu sitting there?”
“Maybe, but Aries doesn’t care about the pilots. He’s more concerned that the white panel van doesn’t see them.”
“Yeah, they’ll be far more cautious.”
“Especially now, wouldn’t you think?”
“Yes, especially now.”
“You never told me, do they have any idea what your client is up to?”
“He hasn’t handed in a letter of resignation.”
“Just taken a flyer?”
“That’s it.”
“They must be bouncing off the walls.”
“I would imagine.”
One of the soldiers in front put his hand to an earpiece and then spoke to his colleagues. “The plane has landed,” Poirier said.
“Do we know what kind it is?” Ava asked.
“Do you know a bit about planes as well as rifles?”